Ground Zero
by hannahml
Summary: In the Second Dimension, Resistance leader Candace Flynn feels that something about their mayor, Roger Doofenshmirtz, is a bit suspicious...
1. Chapter 1

"But why can't we come, Candace?" Phineas asked as his sister ushered him into bed. "Isabella gets to go! Why won't you let us?" The teen frowned, and tried to keep his eyes open against the fatigue slowly creeping up on him.

"Because," Candace said simply. Phineas gave her a glare. "It's a top secret mission and I don't want you to get hurt," she added quickly.

"That's always your excuse!" Phineas said. "We're fully-fledged Resistance members now-it's not like we're trying to be safe! Right, Ferb?" Phineas looked over at his brother, but Ferb was already fast asleep, his arm resting gently on top of Platyborg. "Well, I'm sure he'd agree with me."

"My answer is no, Phineas," Candace said. "I've worked hard to make sure that you two aren't associated with the Resistance. I don't want you hurt or recognized. That might out you, Mom, and Dad in danger, along with the entire Resistance."

"Everyone knows that you're in the Resistance, sis, and it's not as though anyone's come after us!" Phineas said, his tone accusing.

"Everyone knows that I'm in the Resistance because Mayor Roger has my name everywhere, making me a 'public hero'." She grimaced, "The Resistance is supposed to be a secret organization. Its leader shouldn't be featured in TV ads!" She crossed her arms and stayed silent for a second. Phineas stifled a yawn, and looked at her, his expression obviously urging her on. Candace sighed and spoke again, "Not only is the publicity annoying, but there's something odd about Mayor Roger. During the election, he seemed like such a nice guy. Even I voted for him! But once he actually because mayor, he started acting like his brother had as dictator. I mean, it's not like there are giant robot armies flying through the skies, but it's the little things. Criminals being sentenced to life in prison-or death-without a trial, innocent citizens being arrested..." Candace trailed off.

"So, the Resistance is going to investigate what's going on," Phineas said, wide awake with this new information going through his head.

Candace nodded her head in agreement, then froze mid-shake. "Wait, a minute...You got me to tell you my mission, you little-"

Phineas laughed and hid underneath the covers. Candace glared and began poking him rapidly in the general area she assumed was his mid-section. "I give in, I give in! I'll go to sleep!' he shrieked. He slid out from under the blanket again, and gave her a smile. "You're secret's safe with me, sis. I won't tell anyone about the mission."

"I know you won't," Candace said with a hint of a threat. She moved across the room, and leaned in the doorway. She flicked the light switch and smiled into the darkness. "Goodnight, Phineas."

"G'Night, Candace," came the reply.

The door closed softly, and Phineas lay in the complete black for a few minutes. As silently as he could, he reached under his pillow and pulled out a slender green rod. Shaking it vigorously, he looked over at Ferb in the faint green glow the rod was now giving off. "You ready?" he whispered.

Ferb sat up instantly, pulled out his own glow stick, and grinned. "Let's go."

The hallway was dark, as Candace had turned out the lights before leaving. All was silent, except for some soft snoring coming from behind the closed door that led to Mr. and Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher's room. Phineas crept along the hallway, Ferb following silently. As they passed their parents room, a wrongly placed footstep made the floor creak and Phineas inhale sharply. The snoring faltered then began again, louder than before, but no one woke up. He breathed out again in relief, and kept moving, carefully planning his footsteps this time as to avoid any more close calls.

Suddenly, Ferb stopped and put a hand on Phineas' shoulder. "There's something behind us," he hissed.

Phineas froze mid-step. "OK," he whispered, "OK. Let's just…turn around and look. On three." Ferb nodded. "One…two…" Phineas steeled his nerves, "Three!" The two boys turned to see a small figure standing silhouetted in the middle of the hallway. Ferb clapped a hand over Phineas' mouth to muffle his small shriek of surprise.

"Shhh, it's just Platyborg," Ferb whispered. The figure stepped into the dim light given off by the glow sticks and gave them a nervous wave.

"Perry!" Phineas said after removing Ferb's hand from his mouth. "Don't scare us like that!" Platyborg put up his hands in a helpless gesture. He noticed the gear they had on and gave them a look.

"We were just…going for a walk," Phineas muttered, trying to avoid his pet's gaze. Perry exchanged his hand for a mace. Phineas swallowed hard. "A-alright! Ferb, tell him, quick!"

"We're going on a Resistance mission, if you must know," Ferb said. "Could you put away the weapon now?" Perry frowned and looked down at his arm, as though noticing its transformation for the first tie. He retracted the mace, and slowly changed his frown back into a neutral expression. Just like Candace, Perry accepted the boy's involvement in the Resistance, bit didn't like it. Ever since being reunited with them, Perry had become just as protective as Candace.

"Sorry boy, but we have to! Candace says that there might be something weird going on with Mayor Doofenshmirtz—" Perry let out a growl. "-Roger Doofenshmirtz. She, Isabella, and the Firestorm Girls are going to investigate. But if Candace's premonitions are right, she may be in danger. She needs help!" Phineas help his breath. Anyone who knew Candace would detect the lie right away; Candace never needed nor accepted help. But Phineas hoped that Perry wouldn't know that.

Slowly, Platyborg nodded his assent. He was almost as protective of Candace as he was of the boys, but he knew that they could take care of themselves and protect each other.

Phineas grinned. "Thanks, boy! Can you make sure that Mom and Dad don't wake up? All this sneaking around is going to take forever." He glanced down the hall. "We've barely gotten ten feet away from our room."

Perry saluted his owners and walked to the door of Mr. and Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher's room. He stood at attention and winked in Phineas and Ferb's direction. Phineas waved cheerily back and moved on, Ferb trailing behind him. With Perry disguising any noise they made, it didn't take long for Phineas and Ferb to emerge into the street. Despite half a decade of freedom, five years of strolls through town without a Normbot in sight, Phineas cringed slightly as they stepped across the threshold of the front door. The street was shrouded in darkness, as almost no lights were on in the houses. Many families were asleep by 2:30 in the afternoon, obeying Doofenshmirtz's old curfew out of habit. Phineas had found it silly even when it was enforced, but going to sleep in mid-afternoon when you didn't need to made absolutely no sense, especially to someone who's main goal in life was to 'seize the day'. The few houses with lights still on provided just enough light for the boys to see where they were going. Isabella's large home was just across the street from the Flynn-Fletchers, so the boys reached it quickly.

"Come on," Phineas whispered, skirting around the edge of the trapdoor position in the driveway at the gate. Gently, once on ground that wouldn't collapse under him, he and Ferb slowly and quietly pushed the trapdoor open. "Drat," he muttered, staring down the hole. "I was hoping we could crawl down it. But it's completely vertical." Phineas squinted downwards again. "It levels out a tin bit about fifteen feet down, but if we tried to jump, we'd probably hurt ourselves."

"Not to mention the noise we'd make." Feb lightly tapped the side of the chute, and they heard a soft metallic echo. "Is there another way down?"

Phineas pondered this for a second, then he grinned and his eyes grew bright. "I brought Resistance gear," he said as he pulled off his backpack. "We can use this stuff to get down there quietly.

"Brilliant, Phineas!" Ferb reached a hand inside the backpack and pulled out a small watch.

"Teleporter," Phineas supplied. "And a communicator."

"That'll work nicely." Ferb groped around in the bag a bit more and found a second watch, which he handed to his brother. Glancing back down into the hole, he calculated the latitude and longitude of the bottom of the chute, and told them to Phineas, who altered his a bit so that they didn't rematerialize in the exact same place. Both boys put on their watches, and with a quick, breathy prayer that he had gotten the calculations right, Ferb pressed the button on the side of the watch.

The sensation wasn't very pleasant. Phineas felt as though the atoms of his body were being ripped apart, and he could feel every one of them pull away with painful clarity. He wanted to scream, but hurricane force winds had him gasping for breath. Suddenly, he could breath again, and his hands were in contact with solid ground, something cold and smooth. Lookig around, he realized that he was sitting in the bottom of the trapdoor shaft, Ferb just a few inches behind him.

"Not the best method of travel," Ferb said, looking a bit nauseous.

Feeling a bit queasy himself, Phineas shushed his brother. He looked through the grate covering the exit, and strained to hear something from inside the room. "I think they're in the conference room—the door's closed, so we won't be seen."

"How will we be able to hear them, though?" Ferb asked, only to be silenced by Phineas again.

"I have a plan, but we have to get closer." Ferb nodded and urged him forward. Phineas took a breath and pushed on the grate. Surprisingly, it didn't make a sound as it slowly swung open. He let out a sigh of relief, and they both jumped just as soundlessly the few feet to the floor below. As Phineas had expected, no Resistance members were in sight, but muffled voices could be heard from behind the garage door that concealed the meeting hall. As they made their way over, Phineas took off his backpack and pulled out a small laser. With a wink at Ferb, he aimed it at the metal door and traced out a circle. The metal glowed red-orange, then regained its normal coloring and began to smoke. Blowing on the hot circle, Phineas wedged it out of the door, leaving a hole large enough to let light and sound through. Ferb nodded, impressed. Quietly, they leaned towards the hole to listen in on the Resistance.

"I'm telling you, there's something way off with Mayor Roger! We need to find out what—we don't want another dictator!" Candace slammed her fist on the conference table.

"Don't worry, sir." Isabella eyed the Firestorm girls. "We all agree with you."

"_I_ do not," Baljeet said from his position at the large computer system that served as his desk and office. "I see nothing wrong with the mayor-he is a nice man. Bad men don't allow a group called the Resistance to exist, and especially not for five years." He frowned at Candace. "Even you cannot argue with that."

"You only back the mayor because he gave you all of those 'honors' and made you an official city scientist with a fancy title!" she snapped.

"Candace is right, Baljeet," Isabella said. "You know just as well as we do that there's something slightly wrong."

"It's _Professor_! _Professor Baljeet_! Why must all of you refuse to use my title?"

Gretchen gave him a wry smile. "Because it's not a real title." She pushed her chair backwards towards her own tiny computer station. As the others gave her questioning looks, she pressed a few buttons and pulled up a picture of a small certificate.

"Hey, that is from my own files!" Baljeet protested.

"Mmhm," Gretchen mumbled, and zoomed in on the corner of the certificate. "'Made in the Tri-State Area'. I'm pretty sure that the other scientists' certifications are administered by the national government or something."

"What?!" Baljeet ran over to the screen and took a look for himself. "How can it be fake?!"

"It's obvious," Ginger muttered from over by the table. "You're a sixteen-year-old kid with connections to the Resistance. He wouldn't actually make you a professor."

"B-But…" Baljeet looked so distressed that Candace gave him one of her rare smiles.

"It's alright, Baljeet. You've always been a Resistance man, anyways. You _are_ still working with us, right?"

"Of course!" Baljeet's expression hardened. "You know, I was not going to mention it, but there _was_ something odd about the mayor when I met him."

"I knew it!" Candace said. "Baljeet, could you start researching? Anything that has to do with the mayor. Maybe other people have noticed something different about him."

"Of course. I am know what I am doing, people," Baljeet muttered, but he was in high spirits again. He sat back down in front of his own computer and started opening up various programs. "How about hacking into the mayor's own private computer? Will _that_ yield decent enough information for you?"

"Yes, yes it would," Candace said curtly. "You get on that. Isabella! You and the Firestorm girls should start getting the equipment ready and loaded into the mine carts. As soon as Baljeet gets a lead, we're moving out. Got that?"

"Yes sir!"

"What about Phineas? And Ferb? Are they coming as well?" Baljeet asked.

"No! I'm not putting them in danger—they're just kids!" Candace said.

Isabella paused en route to the weapons closet. "No offence, sir, but excluding you, all of us are kids."

"And we were even younger kids when we defeated Doofenshmirtz," Baljeet said. "With your brothers' help, I might add."

"My brothers are in bed, asleep. They are not coming on this mission, and that's final!" Candace shouted. "Get back to work, soldiers." With a sad glance at each other, Isabella and Baljeet turned back around and continued with their tasks.


	2. Chapter 2

"Isabella, estimated time of arrival?" Candace yelled over the rushing wind. The mine carts had recently gotten an upgrade from Phineas and Ferb, allowing it to travel faster.

"ETA is three minutes, sir," Isabella replied from her station at the controls of the mine carts. "But are we going in there with a plan, or what?"

"Of course we have a plan, soldier. I'm waiting for Baljeet to find some concrete evidence of foul play. Speaking of which…" Candace pressed a button on her watch, which served as a communicator. "Baljeet, how's it going? Have you gotten information?"

The comm. crackled. "Well…"

"Look, you either do or don't."

"Then I do not."

"Why is that, Baljeet?" Candace asked testily. "As much as I would like to, I can't go bursting in on the mayor accusing him of…_something_ without evidence!"

"Hold on, I have a perfectly good reason as to why I don't have anything yet," Baljeet said.

"Then explain."

There was a small burst of static as Baljeet sighed into the mic. "Getting into the network and main system was easy. It did not take long for me to breach the external firewall and delete a few attacking viruses. HHW security programs are always so simplistic that it takes no time at all to reach the interface. But then, I ended up finding something completely out of the ordinary—coded within the base files was some other program! It did not match the programming of any other security file I have ever come across. And the most interesting thing about it was that as I tried to get past it, it did not simply block my access to the innermost files, but it terminated my access to the whole system _and_ strengthened its defenses. I was able to get back in, but—"

"English, Baljeet, please!" Isabella called over.

"I _am_ speaking English," Baljeet huffed. "If any of you bothered to learn computer science, you would understand."

"Laymen's terms, then," Candace said.

"Fine!" The comm. silenced as Baljeet thought. "The files were protected by a very common security system," he explained. "It was easy to get past, but then I found a hidden program in the files themselves. It…" He paused, trying to find a way to rephrase it, "…it would not let me open the files, which is a normal function for a security program. But then it undid all the hacking I had done up till that point, shutting me out of the mayor's network completely. When I had hacked in again, I noticed that the program was stronger."

"So…?"

"So, it is a very odd and complicated program. It will take some time to get past it."

"How _much_ time?" Candace snapped.

"Longer than one and a half minutes," Baljeet replied dryly.

Candace scowled at the comm. "Fine. A strong security program could mean he's hiding something—that's good enough for me," she said and cut the link. After checking with Isabella to be sure that they were on the right track to the town hall, she made her way back to the weapons cart. Contemplating the dangers of the mission, she removed the laser from her wrist and threw it on top of the pile she had gotten it from. She shifted through another pile of gadgets for a more suitable weapon, but finding none, Candace turned to the last pile. This one was so large, it was shoved into a whole other mine cart and was covered with a tarp.

Just as her fingers brushed it, the tarp flew up on its own, causing Candace to involuntarily shriek and step back. Within another few seconds, she realized that there wasn't anything dangerous hidden under the tarp—instead, her brothers looked sheepishly up at her.

Candace stared at them, and they stared back. "Isabella…!" she shouted.

"Huh?" Isabella looked up from the mine cart controls. "Oh," she said, "I see you found Phineas and Ferb."

"You knew?!" Candace said, glaring at her.

Isabella shrugged. "They're pretty good spies, but not as good as Baljeet and I. We found them hiding in the other room, listening in, so since they took the time to get here, we decided to give them a ride."

"C'mon, sis," Phineas said as he and Ferb stood up and moved to another that had more room, "We're here now, so let us help you with the mission."

"No!" Candace cried. "I don't want you to get hurt! We're taking you back home right now."

"Can't do that, sir—we've arrived at our destination," Isabella grinned.

Candace tensed up and closed her eyes tightly. Phineas eye her nervously, and then glanced towards the control-cart. Isabella gave him a smile, and Phineas suddenly felt much more confident. Turning back to Candace, he said, "We're staying to help. You're our sister, just like we're your brothers, so we want to keep you safe too. The best way to do that is to stay together." Candace opened her eyes and looked at him. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Candace," he added softly.

His sister inhaled slowly. "I suppose not," she said. "But if you aren't my little brothers, then you're Resistance members, and I'm your superior. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" the boys said together and grinned.

"Finally," Isabella muttered. "And just in time, too. We got here about five seconds ago."

Candace frowned. "What about that giant crash that means we've stopped?" she asked.

"I've gotten better at my parking," Isabella said dryly. "I'm sixteen-I can drive a car."

Candace frowned. "Huh," she said, "excellent." Turning to the members of the Resistance who were crowded into the mine carts, she cleared her throat. "Now, can any of you tell me the plan?"

"Get in, figure out what's up with the mayor, get out," Buford said. "Simple."

Candace glared at him. "First of all, it's not as simple as you may think. Secondly…everyone listen to Buford, he's pretty much got it right. But I was referring to the specifics. Isabella?"

The girl nodded and moved away from the controls of the mine cart. "Alright, people, listen up," she called. Every eye was on her, and no one breathed. "Baljeet said that he couldn't access the mayor's computer from the outside, so we're going to go in and try to get information. Try not to be seen—we're kind of breaking and entering. We'll confront the mayor if and when we get some material to work with. All right?" All of the teens nodded, and Phineas and Ferb looked positively ecstatic at the thought of having a real mission to go on. Isabella smiled at the both of them and looked sideways at Candace. "They're all yours."

"Let's go everyone!" Candace said, and jumped out of her mine cart. "Just remember the plan and you'll be fine. Buford, you, Ginger, Katie, and Milly are staying here to guard the mine carts and supplies. Adyson, Holly, and Gretchen, you can search the basement for anything that might be somehow useful. We're entering about a floor underneath the basement, so you should be able to get there easily. Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella, we're going up to the mayor's office on Baljeet's request. He's really stuck on that computer firewall of his…"

"Yes, Sir!" everyone shouted, and moved quickly to start their tasks.

Candace began walking towards one of the garage doors that led to the lowest level of Town Hall. To both her and Isabella, it was an ominous case of déjà vu—they were entering the same room where they had been captured by Normbots years ago. The old Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building had been knocked down years ago, and town hall had been built on top of the site. The city council (which had since been disbanded) had simply incorporated the basement of the DEI into the town hall to allow for extra storage space.

Candace shook the feeling and pressed the button on the wall next to the garage door that led inside. "Be careful," she said to her group, though no one needed the warning.  
The garage door lifted up slowly, and all four young adults stared into the room beyond apprehensively. The room was brightly lit, and was no sight of any ambush waiting for them. Phineas sighed happily. "No one's here."

"Don't be too sure, Phineas," Candace said, "Stay on your guard."

"Oh, Candace," Isabella said, patting her friend on the back, "I understand where you're coming from, there, but seriously, it's the mayor's office, not Doofenshmirtz's headquarters. We'll be fine."

Candace's face grew dark, but she nodded at her second in command and stepped into the room. Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella followed her, rolling their eyes at each other behind Candace's back. They weren't as worried as Candace was—there had been five years of peace under the guidance of Mayor Doofenshmirtz, and there had only been a 'problem' with him as of recently. As far as the other members of the Resistance were concerned, Candace was simply paranoid. She had always been level headed, and never rushed into something without a good reason. Investigating the Mayor after five years in office, her only evidence of suspicious behavior being a well-protected computer, seemed a bit out of character for Candace.

They were able to walk straight through the room without having to avoid anything—the room was completely empty, with only a small door on the far wall. Having reached that door, Candace turned to the teenagers. "There wasn't an ambush in this room, but there may be one waiting right behind this door. Isabella, boys, stay back." Isabella rolled her eyes, but gestured for Phineas and Ferb to stand away from the door. Candace nodded and reached for the doorknob. Turning it slowly, she stood a bit off to the side, as if expecting someone to jump through the door once it was open. The door swung open, and all four Resistance members peeked through into the room.

The décor was similar to that of the previous room—there was almost nothing in it. Several doors lined the walls, and the only piece of furniture was a desk in the middle of the room. It was odd enough to see a random desk in a basement, but what was especially odd was what was on it. Instead of normal office supplies and papers, a large variety of buttons were stuck onto the surface of the desk. "Odd," Phineas said. "Odd, but it's not an ambush."

"Just buttons," Ferb observed.

Candace frowned and walked towards the desk. "But what is it doing down here?" She paced around it. "Why put a random desk in the basement?"

"Why enter the building through the basement instead of the front door?"

"Huh?" Startled, Candace turned and saw a young woman standing by one of the doors. She didn't look angry, but she seemed lofty, as though all four of them were beneath her notice. Known for having the same attitude herself, Candace looked her over. She was wearing a red dress shirt and skirt-leggings, partially concealed by a trench coat. Candace frowned as the woman gazed at her with the same scrutiny. "Who are you?"

"Mayor Doofenshmirtz's secretary."

"Secretary? You don't look like a secretary. You're wearing a trench coat. That makes you look a bit…sinister."

"Do you have a problem with how I look?"

"No, no, no, it's lovely! Trench coats are cool."

The woman rolled her eyes. "The name's Veronica. But why are you asking me who _I_ am? Aren't you the ones sneaking into my office though the entrance that no one knows about or uses?" the woman said, and walked towards them. Looking at her, Candace felt something she almost never experienced—she was slightly intimidated.

"Uhh…" For once, Candace seemed to be at a loss for words. She glanced down as the woman stared at her expectantly. "We're from…We're from out of town," she said, and forced a smile. "We're delegates, here to talk to the mayor about an export agreement between the Tri-State Area and the Bi-State Area."

"Alright then," Veronica said, and leaned against the desk. "Now you can tell me why you 'delegates' came in through the secret underground entrance in a mine cart full of weapons?"

Phineas leaned towards Isabella. "How did she know we had weapons on the mine carts?" he whispered. Isabella simply shrugged.

Candace laughed nervously. "Oh, what? Weapons? No, no, those aren't weapons, they're…Ummm….Well, alright, they're weapons, but we don't plan to use them on anyone! None of us are even armed."

Veronica paused, studying the four of them carefully. "No, I suppose you aren't. But why didn't you come through the front door like normal people?"

"Because we couldn't find it!" Candace said. "We got lost."

"Lost," Veronica echoed skeptically.

"Oh, come on, we're from the Bi-State Area, of course we might get lost."

"You ended up in the basement."

"And there was an entrance. With a desk that belongs to the mayor's secretary. It was an honest mistake to make. Why is your desk down here anyways?"

"Well…" Now it was Veronica's turn to look uncomfortable. "Yes, this is an obscure entrance, but you wouldn't _believe_ how many people come through here. Mayor Doofenshmirtz got tired of surprise guests, so he stuck me down here." She regained her composure and smiled at Candace. "Since we're clear that you're unarmed, lost delegates from the Bi-State Area, I should do my duty as secretary and direct you to the mayor's office."

"That would be lovely, thank you," Candace said, relieved.

"If you'll go through that door there," Veronica gestured towards one of the doors opposite them, "you'll be able to reach the office. I'm sure he'll be glad to see y—Hold on." She held a hand to a device on her ear and frowned. "I'm sorry—it seems the mayor is visiting his brother in prison today. He won't be able to see you for at least half an hour."

"Only half an hour? For visiting his own brother?" Phineas asked.

Veronica rolled her eyes. "They don't exactly like each other, and he has other, more important things to do."  
"What will we do in the meantime?" Candace asked.

"If you don't mind waiting in the green room…" the secretary trailed off.

"Perfectly fine! We'll just wait in the mayor's green room. Outside his office. Alone. For half an hour. Thank you very much," Candace said, and edged towards the door.

The three teenagers gave each other exasperated glances, and followed their leader. As each of them moved past Veronica, they gave her a respectful nod, which she returned. When Phineas passed her, however, he held his hand out for a handshake. Veronica frowned, but accepted it. As they touched she winced, but managed a smile. "Nice to meet you," Phineas said, and their eyes locked for a moment. Veronica nodded slowly and pulled away. Phineas looked at her strangely, but said nothing, following his friends to the door.

As soon as the four young adults exited the room, Veronica visibly relaxed. She sat back down at her desk and pressed one of the many buttons on it. The door swung closed behind them. "Ma'am?" A small light flickered to life on the control panel. "I thought you might like to know…Four unauthorized individuals are headed for the top floor."  
"Yes, thank you, Jardis, it's not like I let them in there," Veronica said, rolling her eyes. "Just watch them, would you?"

"Watch them, watch them…What would that imply, exactly?" Jardis asked nervously. "Do I need to prevent them from touching anything, or do I just watch them from a distance?"

"Or, and here's an idea, simply watch them and tell me what they're doing. It's not that hard of a concept," she said. "For most people, anyways. Obviously, an idiotic AI like you wouldn't get it."

The light on the consol dimmed a bit. "O-Of course. I'll go and…watch them now. Anything  
else you need me to do…?"

"Just make sure to tell me if they find out about anything that can't be covered up. If they plan to get out of here with any classified information, they're sadly mistaken. They can leave without what they came for, or they won't leave at all."

"Information? Why would these people need information?"

"They're members of the Resistance. They're snooping around, trying to find out what's wrong with the mayor. I had noticed that someone tried to access the mainframe…" Veronica sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Well, if they're that intent on getting information let them have it. But they should be warned of the consequences all the same. Jardis!"

"Yes, ma'am?" The little light on the control panel flashed, as though Jardis were surprised. "Do I go watch them now?"

"No. There's been a slight change in plan, which you would have known about if you were paying a bit of attention to me."

"I-I was paying attention, ma'am," Jardis assured her. "I was! I'm supposed to warn them. Warn them about the consequences." He paused, then asked tentatively, "What are the consequences again?"

"You don't need to know, do you? Just tell those Resistance members that consequences exist, and are harshly enforced. And if you weren't aware, there are worse consequences for you if you fail. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Jardis said. "But, one more question…"

"What is it now? I gave you an order!"

"Yes, yes, I know, but I was wondering…" Jardis' signal light faded in and out, indicating his nervousness. "I was wondering how you know that those people are trying to get into the files. Maybe they really are from the Bi-State Area."

"Seriously? After all the work I did to make her publicly recognizable…The redhead is the leader of the Resistance, Candace. And the younger girl is Isabella, her second-in-command. If they showed up, there's only one thing they could be after. It's simple logic."

"So who are those two boys that were with them?"

Veronica sighed. "I have to admit that I don't know. I don't have them in the city-wide database, so I must never have seen them before. They may be new recruits."

"Of course. There's always that possibility."

"There was something odd about the kid with the weird head, though."

"Erm, ma'am, they all have weird heads."

"The one with the triangle head. And the red hair. He seemed quite interested in me. I got a reading on him and…"

"And…?" Jardis prompted his boss.

"Nothing. None of your business." She paused suddenly and gasped. "They've gotten into the main office already! Jardis!" Jardis' light flared. "Why weren't you watching them?!"

"Y-You were talking to me, ma'am-!" Jardis said. "I'll go watch them now! I'll go explain consequences and all that! Oh…!" The light blinked out, and Jardis was gone.

"Augh, why does he have to be such an idiot?" Veronica groaned. "He'll never get this right." Standing up from her chair, she swept across the floor to the door she had sent the Resistance members through. "I'll have to deal with this myself."


	3. Chapter 3

Jardis dashed through the hallways of City Hall, heading towards the mayor's main office. From the way Veronica had been acting, she was in a mood, and if Jardis didn't do as she had asked-quickly—Veronica would become even angrier, and probably take it out on him. She never _hurt_ him, exactly; there was never any physical contact. She normally just yelled at him or locked him in the basement for the rest of the day. As her 'assistant', Jardis knew he had to bear it and not complain.

It was hard for him, though—no one knew he existed, so no one could help him get away from Veronica if it became necessary. No one really knew _she_ existed, either. Veronica had never explained _how_ she had gotten to where she was—hiding out in the basement under City Hall-but she _had_ explained _why_ she had gotten there, while also explaining to Jardis why he existed and how it tied into the plans that she had already put into place. Apparently, Veronica had gotten a legit job as Mayor Roger's secretary several years before. But she had done months of planning beforehand, and as soon as Veronica was alone with the mayor, she made sure he would do whatever she wanted him to and nothing else, using a combination of blackmail and intimidation. With the mayor under her control, Veronica was in charge of the entire Tri-State Area—except she didn't tell anyone. Instead, she used the mayor as a sort of puppet—she made the decisions, and he signed the papers. Conveniently, he was also blamed when anything went wrong.

Eventually, Veronica realized that there were some things she wanted done that the mayor couldn't do. She also realized that she couldn't hire a civilian to help her unless she wanted to jeopardize her position. So she decided to _make_ herself a helper. Over the course of three years, Veronica collected spare computer parts and assembled them into what was now Jardis' body. She had given him 'special programming' and activated him as soon as she could. That had been two years ago, and Veronica had been running him hard ever since then. It had been obvious to Jardis from the very start that she didn't actually care about him—he was beneath her, just someone to do whatever she wanted. Veronica even took the time to tell him that on occasion, whenever he messed up a task she assigned to him.

_Speaking of which…_ Jardis thought to himself, _I had better talk to those Resistance people before she gets impatient._ Glancing around, he noticed that he had finally reached the mayor's office. The door was slightly open, and soft voices came from behind it. Tiptoeing towards it, Jardis risked a peek through the gap between the door and the doorframe. Four people stood around the mayor's desk, whispering to each other and looking around nervously. A red haired teenage boy sat at the mayor's computer, typing furiously as another boy—this one with green hair—watched from over his shoulder. A girl who seemed about their age was scanning over a bunch of documents she had taken off the desk. Studying them carefully, Jardis was startled as someone called, "Have you found anything yet?" All three teenagers looked over towards the part of the room Jardis couldn't see through the crack in the door.

"Not yet," the girl said. "There isn't anything of interest in his hardcopies. Are you sure there'll be anything at all?"

"Of course!" the person exclaimed. "I bet it's all in his computer." There were footsteps, and the owner of the voice came into Jardis' field of vision. It was a woman in black, a bit older than the other three. She wore a pair of sunglasses that covered her eyes, which prevented Jardis from getting a positive ID. She moved quickly to stand next to the red haired boy, staring at the computer screen. "Have you gotten in yet, Phineas?" Jardis didn't recognize the name, but the boy looked up in acknowledgment.

"Sorry, Candace, but I haven't been able to get past the password," he said.

Jardis smiled to himself. _Of course!_ he thought. _Veronica told me that Candace was here. So that younger girl must be…_ Jardis quickly scanned the teen's face, and found a match in the database Veronica had set up. _Isabella,_ he thought triumphantly,_Candace's second in command._ He tried to identify the two boys, but the database couldn't find a match.

"I think I've got it!" the boy named Phineas said suddenly. "It took a lot of guesswork, but I got the password!"

_No!_ thought Jardis. If the boy entered the password, Veronica would instantly know about it, and would come after them. These Resistance people didn't seem to be very dangerous—and if they were resisting Veronica, they must be good people! _They don't know what they're doing!_ he thought franticly. _I can't just let them face Veronica!_ Jardis had been sent to warn them of the consequences, and that's just what he'd do. Taking a deep breath, steeling his nerves, Jardis pushed open the door and shouted, "Stop!"

All four of them stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Phineas blushed and moved away from the computer, like a little boy caught with his hands in the cookie jar. Candace glared at him and, lowering her sunglasses, gave Jardis an incredulous look. "Who are _you_?"

Jardis, suddenly regretting his rash decision to come barging in, stuttered, "Uh—well—I-I'm…"

Candace looked at him a bit longer, rolled her eyes, replaced her sunglasses, and turned back to the computer. "I don't have time for this. Go on, Phineas, let's get into this computer."

"Hold on, hold on, wait, you _really_ don't want to do this!" Jardis said quickly, rushing up to the desk and waving his hands frantically in front of the computer screen. Phineas frowned and tried to see around Jardis' hands, but failed.

"Come on, kid, we don't have all day. Move aside or I'll report you to the mayor. Little kids like you shouldn't even be in this place!" Candace said.

"You aren't supposed to be in here either," Jardis retorted, then shook his head. "No, no, wait, that's not the point—I'm telling you, you shouldn't try and get access to that computer."

"Why?" asked the black haired girl.

"Because…Because if you do, she'll know about it, and since you can't know about anything that's on that computer, she'll make sure to get rid of you so you can't tell anyone about her plans," Jardis said in a rush.

"'She'?" Candace echoed. "'She' who?"

"Well, Veronica, of course!" Jardis said, confused. "Who else would it-? Oh." He'd forgotten that they didn't know Veronica's true nature. _Crud,_ he thought. _Now they'll think I'm crazier than they already do._

"You're telling us that the mayor's _secretary_ is going to come after us and 'get rid of us'?" Candace laughed. "Please. Isabella, besides an odd choice of clothing, was there anything _off_ about Veronica?"

Isabella shook her head. "No, ma'am. Seemed pretty nice after she realized we weren't armed and weren't planning to do anything illegal in here." She fingered the high-tech looking bracelet/laser on her wrist. "Well, after we _convinced_ her that was the case…"

Jardis stared at them. "B-But—She's—really, she's—"

"I believe you," the boy at the computer—_Phineas,_ Jardis reminded himself—said quietly. "There was something a bit odd about the way she acted when we shook hands. And she kept looking at me strangely." Phineas glanced at the boy standing behind him, who hadn't said a word since Jardis had come in. "She was looking at you too, Ferb." Ferb nodded in agreement.

"I'm confused," Candace said. "Why are we supposed to believe some ridiculous theory a kid who randomly showed up in the office blurted out with no evidence to support it?"

Phineas shrugged and smiled at Jardis. "Maybe he _is_ right. And the way he's acting, if Veronica really would try to get rid of us, it'd be pretty bad." Jardis nodded vigorously. Phineas turned to Candace, "Since I thought this _may_ be a bad idea anyhow, and since I'm the only one of us who knows the password…" He crossed his arms and rolled the chair away from the desk. "I'm not logging in."

"I don't have time for this, Phineas," Candace snapped. She attempted to drag him back over to the computer, but Phineas planted his feet on the floor and refused to budge. "The secretary said there was about half an hour until the mayor gets back, and it's already been fifteen minutes!"

"With what this kid said, and the fact that it is _vaguely possible_, I don't want to take any chances," Phineas muttered. "Plus, there's no reason to be so rude to him, Candace. How would Mom like it if you talked to her like tha—?"

"_Don't even go there,_" Candace hissed. "Listen, just put in the password. I need to have some evidence that there's something weird going on with the mayor!"

"Then maybe you should listen to Jardis here," a new voice said quietly. The Resistance members looked up in alarm, while Jardis froze. He didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. "If you had let him talk," Veronica said, walking up to the desk to stand beside Jardis, "you would have been given all the evidence you need."

"What are you talking about?" Candace asked, on guard. "You can't be _serious_…" Veronica smiled at her. "You're… evil?"

Veronica shrugged. "If you consider your silly 'Resistance' to be on the good side, then yes, I'm evil."

Phineas stared at her for a moment, thinking very hard about the situation. "Alright, you're evil. So…you're going to tell us your evil plan, right?"

"No, don't be obvious," she scoffed. "Not while you're all perfectly capable of escaping."

"H-Hold on—" Jardis began to say. Veronica glared at him, but he swallowed the lump in his throat and continued, "Y-You're getting rid of them a-already?"

"They know the password. Or at least they say they do." Veronica looked at Phineas closely before turning back to Jardis. "You've seen this type of thing happen before. None of the others who came snooping could find the _office_, let alone figure out the password for the computer. And yet you think I'd let these ones go now?"

"I-I just thought-"

"Don't think," Veronica snapped. Obviously done with Jardis, she turned back to the Resistance. Phineas frantically looked around for an escape while the other three continued to stare at Veronica. Everything was happening so fast—they were having trouble keeping up. Phineas slowly got up from the chair, and separated himself from Candace, Isabella, and Ferb.

"They didn't do anything," Phineas said. "Leave them alone. I'm the one who knows the password and me alone, so…if something has to be—" he cringed slightly, "—done, then let them go about their normal lives, and keep me here."

"The amount of misconceptions here is amazing." Veronica laughed. Phineas gave her a confused look. "I wouldn't keep you here, I'd just kill you," she said blatantly. "And I have the two main leaders of the Resistance right here, already trapped. I can't just _let them go_. What kind of an evil villain would I be if I did that?"

Isabella looked alarmed. "What do you mean, 'already trapped'?"

Veronica smiled, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Bye-bye," she said sweetly, pulling out what looked like a small remote and pressing a button on it. The floor underneath Candace, Isabella, and Ferb suddenly retracted. Surprised to find themselves suddenly falling, the girls shrieked in alarm, while Ferb stayed silent as always. As soon as they had fallen through, the floor closed up again. From his position a few feet away, Phineas stared in shock at where his friends had been standing a few seconds before.

Jardis looked just as uneasy and tugged nervously on the edge of Veronica's coat. "U-Um…Ma'am, one of the Resistance members…H-He's…He's s-still here…"

"I'm aware," she said coldly. Turning to address Phineas, she fixed him with an intense stare. "Who are you?"

Phineas looked from the floor to Veronica and back. "What?" he asked, confused. "Y-You just made my friends…fall through the floor or something, and you suddenly want to know my name?"

"Not just your name," Veronica said impatiently, and moved around the desk to face him. "_Who are you?_ She reached out and grabbed his arm. Alarmed, Phineas tried to pull away, but Veronica's hand didn't even move, and her grip became even tighter. He looked around, trying to find a way out of the situation, and his gaze rested on Jardis. Jardis shook his head violently and shrunk back against the wall. Phineas swiveled his head back towards Veronica and was startled to see that her face was only centimeters away from the tip of his nose. Unable to look away, Phineas noticed a startling fact—Veronica had bright red eyes. "I've searched all my databanks, and _you don't exist_," she hissed. "But when you shook my hand, I felt as though I had met you somewhere before. How could I, when _you don't exist?_"

"I-I don't understand," stuttered Phineas. "Whatever 'databanks' you're talking about, I'm sure I'm in them! I mean, I obviously exist…C-Check the town records! I'm a citizen of the Tri-State Area-a-a-ahh!" Phineas winced as her grip tightened even more.

"Oh really?" Veronica said angrily. Phineas stared as her eyes suddenly flashed with red light. "Tell me your name."

Phineas swallowed, and after another futile attempt to make her release his arm, said, "Phineas Flynn."

Veronica's eyes glowed again, staying that way for about fifteen seconds before going back to normal. She glared at Phineas and then let go of his arm, stepping backwards a few feet. "You still don't register, but your name feels familiar…Oh well," she said brightly, her aggressive attitude changing, "I'll have to figure this out later. You can go and join your friends now."

Phineas stopped rubbing his arm where Veronica had grabbed him and looked at her in alarm. "Wait—What do you mean by that?" he said. "What are you going to d—Ah!" he shouted, as the floor beneath his feet disappeared too.

Once he had dropped out of sight, Veronica came around to the computer side of the desk and slowly sank down into the office chair. She put her face in her hands and sighed loudly. Jardis quietly moved away from the wall to stand in front of the desk, facing Veronica. "Ma'am…are you…alright? What was all that about?" he said, unsure of how she might react.

Not even moving, she muttered, "I don't know who he is. I don't know why…I know everything about everyone in the entire Tri-State Area, but I don't know who he is. When he gave me his name I searched every instantly accessible document in the country—I can't find a trace of him. I'd take the time to search everything in existence in the world, but he told me he lives here…But then there'd be birth certificates, report cards—" Veronica looked up at Jardis, and he was surprised to see a desperate look in her eyes. "—there would be _something_! But there's nothing. I don't understand this…The same goes for that green haired kid too, but the red head…He just…" She trailed off and sighed harshly, the moment of weakness gone. "Why am I telling this to you? In fact, why are you still here? This has happened many times before, Jardis, you know what your job is now."

"B-But…You've never _captured_ any of the trespassers before," Jardis dared to remind her. "You normally just…kill them. Then I have to…clean up. But there's nothing to clean up," he concluded.

Veronica slowly smiled at him, and the evil glint returned to her eyes. "There will be, don't worry. I just need to interrogate them."

"I'm not sure if I can…I don't know if I'd be good at interrogation…"

"You wouldn't be. I'll be doing the interrogating—you can be cleanup crew, as usual." With another sigh, Veronica stood up from the chair and walked out the door, motioning for Jardis to follow her, which he did. "The two unknown boys I will have to be careful with, but the Resistance leaders…" She chuckled. "Well, of course, I have much easier methods to extract the information I want, but they certainly aren't as much _fun_."


	4. Chapter 4

Paste your document here..."Ugh…" Phineas groaned as he strained to open his eyes. The fall hadn't been a straight one—he'd been flung through a series of vents until he couldn't tell which way was up. Once he'd hit the floor, he had closed his eyes and waited for the pain to stop. Now he heard voices, and he forced himself to be conscious.

"Oh, good," he heard someone say. "I think he's waking up."

Someone with a British accent laughed. "I don't know, he looks a bit...out of it. Perhaps you should give him a kiss to wake him up, hmm, Isabella?" Phineas frowned. _Ferb, what are you-_ He felt his face heat up as he realized what Ferb had said.

"Get real," Isabella scoffed. "He's like a little brother to me, and anything like that would just be weird and awkward. Therefore…" Phineas winced as he felt a kick in his side, and he moaned. "Wakey-wakey, Mr. Flynn," Isabella said in a sing-song voice.

"I'm up, I'm up…" Phineas said as he propped himself up on shaky elbows. "Where are we now?"

"Somewhere underground," he heard from his left, and he turned towards the sound. Candace was leaning against a wall, looking irritated and bouncing a ball against the opposite wall. "Small room—no more than ten feet by ten feet, no exit from what I can tell, and the hole in the ceiling we all fell through sealed up as soon as you dropped in."

"So we're trapped," summarized Ferb.

Phineas took a look around the room himself and was disappointed to see that they were right. With the four of them inside, the small room looked even smaller. The walls were black and looked like they were made of a very thick metal. He couldn't see a break in the smooth surface, let alone a door, or even a service vent. It was completely bare, except for a small security camera and speaker mounted on the corner of the ceiling. "Great," he muttered. "And the person who trapped us here is a complete nutcase."

"Yeah, what was that about, Phineas?" Isabella asked. "You were several minutes behind us—we were worried that secretary lady did something horrible to you."

"I have no idea what it was about. She just started saying that 'don't exist', but she somehow 'remembers me' and so she forced me to tell her my name. Sorry, Candace," Phineas added.

"It's fine," she muttered. "It's not like I can keep you publically unassociated with the Resistance now…" Scowling, Candace caught the ball and clenched it tightly. "I led you all right in there, without thinking. I hope you notice that I'm not gloating about being right about something odd going on, because that's the closest you're getting to an apology right now…I'm too mad at myself."

"Don't be mad, Candace," Phineas said, and stood up. "Maybe now that we know the mayor's secretary is evil, we can do something about it."

There was a crackle of static and the light on the camera in the corner turned on. "I'm sorry to report that there's several things wrong with that statement."

"Who said that?" Ferb asked.

There was a sigh. "Me. Veronica. The one who—seriously. What kind of a question is that? That's the question I should be asking _you_, actually. But back to Mr. Flynn, here. In order to correct your statement, I'll need to explain what's going on from the beginning. Normally I wouldn't, but otherwise you'd be bugging me with annoying questions. But that will take some time. So I'll ask a few questions of my own, first."

Phineas rubbed his sore arm again. "What kind of questions…?"

"One for you, and one for the green haired kid," said Veronica. "The one for you—Phineas _Flynn_…So you're related to Candace Flynn over here? A brother, I assume."  
With a glance towards Candace, Phineas sighed and nodded. "Yes. We're siblings."

"Alright," Veronica said, "I'm still going to find out why I can't find any information about you, but that will do for now. But who's the other one?"

"Ferb Fletcher," Ferb said. Phineas could tell he was irritated by the situation. "I'm their step-brother."

"Really?" There was a pause. "I can't find anything on a 'Ferb Fletcher' either…Are you sure you're not lying about your names?"

"We don't seem to be in a position to lie to you, do we?" Phineas commented dryly. "I mean, up in the office, you were being really threatening with your…creepy glowing red eyes. What's with that, anyways?"

Veronica groaned. "And here we are with the annoying questions…I'll just begin explaining everything to you, and all your questions will be answered."

"Whoopee," Candace said flatly, "it's story time."

"Oh, be quiet and listen," Veronica snapped. "I can tell you're trying to find a way to escape, so think of it this way—I'm telling you everything. So if you escape, you can blab about it to everyone and get me arrested or whatever. Alright?"

"Alright," Candace said, and began bouncing the ball again.

"_Anyways,_, let me begin by answering Mr. Flynn's question. The reason I have 'creepy glowing red eyes' is because I'm an android." Everyone except Candace looked up at the camera in alarm, and Veronica sighed loudly. "Oh, please, just five years ago you were being ruled by a psychopath with an army of robots; is this _really_ that surprising?"

"I suppose not," Isabella said. "Continue."

"To repeat, I'm an android. Well, actually, I'm an AI. The first thing I can remember is being activated—and seeing that ugly face of Heinz Doofenshmirtz'. He was the current ruler of the Tri-State Area, and…well, I admit I don't know how or why I ended up in his headquarters, but…You all have met him, and so you'll understand when I say that having him be the first thing I saw didn't exactly go over well."

Phineas frowned. "If you're an AI, shouldn't you be able to remember everything? Why don't you know why you were there?"

"I-I…" There was a pause. "I don't know. It's my first memory—I'm assuming Doofenshmirtz was my inventor. In any case, it seems Doofenshmirtz wasn't very impressed with my reaction to seeing him. He had one of his stupid robots throw the flash drive in which I was currently stored into the giant garbage dump underneath his headquarters. But he'd forgotten to shut me down first, so I was alone and unable to move at all…He had dumped a whole lot of broken robot parts down there as well, so during the next year, for lack of better things to do, I eventually made a body for myself to walk around in. It wasn't exactly the fanciest piece of work…But I made do until I could-."

Candace yawned loudly. "Where's that important information you promised me?"

"I was _getting to it_," Veronica snapped. "I'm attempting to give you some background information. After about a year of living in that stupid dump, I heard a commotion from the upstairs. A little hacking into the Normbots' main communications system told me that a group of kids calling themselves the Resistance had destroyed a whole bunch of the robots and was currently fighting Doofenshmirtz. I took the chaos as a chance to get out of there, so I went upstairs. By then, all the robots had been completely shut down and destroyed, and Doofenshmirtz had been captured by the Resistance. Now, I certainly didn't like how Doofenshmirtz had treated me all that time ago, and I was holding a bit of a grudge, so I decided to get revenge…But then I realized that, of course, he was being sent to jail. I had to change my plans…and since I noticed the Tri-State Area was without a leader, I figured I'd try and get the job. But as you might recall, my physical form at the time was made out of spare parts, and so it wasn't very…nice to look at. Luckily, everyone seemed to think I was a human who had gotten into some horrible accident. Or maybe they just didn't care. At any rate, once I realized their view of me, I changed my plans once again. Once Roger Doofenshmirtz was elected mayor, I applied for a job as his secretary. He took pity on my appearance, the fool, and hired me."

"So you actually _are_ Mayor Roger's secretary?" Isabella broke in.

"Now that's an acceptably not stupid question…Technically, yes, though he has another secretary hired to actually do secretary work," Veronica explained. "My real job—well, that's what I'll explain next, and what your impatient leader should listen to. Like I said, I got the job, and I observed the mayor for a few days. He's not that bright, actually, and is the scapegoat kind of guy. Naturally, I had to take advantage of it. See, almost no one in this stupid city knows he's Heinz Doofenshmirtz' younger brother. You Resistance folk are the only ones who know, I believe. Roger was quite proud of being mayor… He didn't want the public to know they had elected the brother of their old dictator, in case they removed him from office. To be honest though, Roger isn't good at all the 'politician' work. When I explained that I was taking control, he was almost ready to comply without the blackmail…But I couldn't help myself. I threatened to tell everyone in the city about his connections to Heinz Doofenshmirtz unless he did whatever I said and didn't tell anyone about it. Roger agreed, and he became the public figure, the one who announced all of my laws and rules as his own ideas." There was a small sigh. "And that's how it's been for the past four years."

Everyone was silent for a moment. "Well, that was a monologue…" Candace commented.

"You asked for it."

"Actually, no, we didn't, you just started ranting."

"Since I've beaten you, I have the right to rant and/or monologue."

"In what rulebook does it say that?"

"I—" A small burst of static came from the speaker, then Veronica spoke again, "Look, this is off topic! Now that I've covered the answers to the stupid questions, are there any non-stupid questions?"

"So you've been secret ruler of the Tri-State Area for four years?" Phineas said. "Hasn't anybody found out about you?"

"Sure they have. A few random citizens who got very, very lost wandering around City Hall, some stupid government agency called the O.W.C.A…"

"What did you do about them finding out?" Phineas asked nervously.

"Well, for the O.W.C.A., after they sent a few animal agents out to try and stop me, and those agents never came back—though some came pretty close to beating me—they stopped sending them, and actually tried to _convince_ me to cease being ruler. All I had to do was remind them that if they remove me from power, the public will notice a change, and if they realize they had been secretly ruled by another evil dictator for so long, there would be widespread panic. The O.W.C.A. is not the most responsible of organizations, and the heads decided they didn't want to have to deal with widespread panic. I haven't had much trouble with them for a long time. As for the random citizens, well…No one will miss them."

"…Oh…"

"Alright, story time is over, it's my turn to ask questions. Unless, of course, you'd like some time to reflect on that whole…" Veronica chuckled, "…monologue I did. There's not much action to be had when you're trapped with no knowledge of what's going on, so I thought I'd give you background information. I'm glad you interrupted me at some points, otherwise I'd have been talking on and on forever…You know what, I'm tired of talking, I'll leave you to get your thoughts together. Enjoy your stay." The light on the camera blinked off.

"…What just happened?" Ferb asked.

"Background information, apparently," Candace answered, "though I'm not sure what for…"

Isabella groaned. "All I got from that was that she's evil and is planning to kill us. Like a bunch of other people, apparently…Have there actually been any missing person's reports? Huh, I guess she was right, no one missed them…" She looked over in the other corner of the room, where Phineas and Ferb were standing. "Phineas? Are you OK?"

He waved her off. "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm just thinking."

"About what? We have time. Might as well share your thoughts."

"I don't understand the part about Veronica meeting Doofenshmirtz. I actually studied artificial intelligence when I was younger, and theoretically, AIs should be able to remember everything. What they experience, their memory, is stored as data—so she should be able to access that data and know what happened with Doofenshmirtz…The only way she wouldn't know is if her memories were deleted, and I doubt anyone could get close enough to her to do that."

Candace finally pocketed the ball and frowned at Phineas. "When did you 'study' that? That seems pretty dangerous to do…Would Mom have approved of you doing stuff like that?"

"When I was about ten—and Mom didn't approve of us _breathing_, she was so nervous back then. Look, I'm just confused about Veronica's story…She didn't seem to be lying about not remembering."

"Why do you care, Phineas?" Candace snapped. "If you're so smart, find a way to get us out of here."

"There isn't a way out of here. So I decided I'd figure out the mystery behind this. Not only is it weird that she can't remember some things, then there's the fact that she has files on everyone in the Tri-State Area, apparently, but none on Ferb and I. She doesn't know who we are. But she knows about you, Candace, so why not us, your brothers? And she seems kind of obsessed with finding out. Maybe if we can figure out why she doesn't know us, she'll let us go for the information. I-It's a long shot, but it might work…" Phineas sighed. "Oh, never mind. I'll just think to myself from now on."

"Well, it's…" Candace sighed. "You're right, it's a long shot, but we _are_ trapped in here, so it's the only shot we have. You can think about it some more, while the rest of us think about what we're going to do once we get out of—"

Another crackle of static came from the speaker in the corner. "You all realize I can hear every word you say, don't you?" Realizing their already sketchy plans were ruined, Candace looked like she wanted to explode, and Phineas just looked disappointed. Ferb and Isabella sat to the side, feeling a bit out of the loop. As the camera observed their reactions, there was a low chuckle, and the speakers fell silent.

"So we really are completely stuck…" Candace said, and her companions noticed hopelessness to her words that they had never heard before. Unsure how to respond, and feeling a bit down themselves, Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella stayed silent.

**A/N: Even Veronica realized she was rambling on to long with the background information…There's two ways you readers can go with this. Either read this A/N to get the summery, or go back to her rant to find some plot relevant information! Try and solve the mystery Phineas mentioned, perhaps? Just keep it to yourself—spoilers. Summery? Ummm….They're all stuck.**


End file.
